Many businesses and other types of organizations have a number of computers that are used by employees. These computers are often interconnected to form a computer network. One or more system administrators may be responsible for managing the organization's computers. A system administrator's responsibilities typically include installing and configuring new hardware and software, assigning user accounts and passwords, establishing security access levels, performing backups, troubleshooting reported problems, and so forth. In larger organizations, some of these tasks may be divided between different system administrators. A computer system that is used by a system administrator is commonly referred to as an administrative system. The computers (or other electronic devices) that a system administrator manages may be referred to as managed nodes.
Systems management software may be used to provide system administrators with the ability to remotely perform management operations on managed nodes. This remote management capability can save system administrators a significant amount of time, because they are able to perform management operations on a managed node without the need to physically visit the managed node. An example of systems management software that is used by various organizations is the LANDesk® Management Suite. Systems management software enables a system administrator who is working at an administrative system to send management-related requests to managed nodes, which process and fulfill the requests.
Most systems management software communicates with managed nodes over the same logical communication channel that the managed node uses to communicate with other devices that are connected to the organization's computer network. This is often referred to as “in-band” management.
Unfortunately, in-band management tools may be ineffective when a managed node loses network connectivity or is otherwise unavailable for in-band communication. When managed nodes cannot be accessed in-band, an out-of-band infrastructure may be used. Out-of-band management tools and protocols enable the remote monitoring and control of managed nodes even when these devices lose network connectivity. Some examples of known out-of-band management tools include implementations of the Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI), Intel® Active Management Technology (AMT), ASF, and so forth.
System administrators are under a tremendous amount of pressure to perform their duties in an efficient and productive manner. Accordingly, benefits may be realized by improved systems and methods for using out-of-band management tools and protocols to remotely perform management operations on a managed node in a computer network while in-band communication with the managed node is not available.